City of LA getting vaccine doses to hardest hit areas, new site opens at USC

LOS ANGELES - As the demand for the COVID-19 vaccine increases, the city of Los Angeles opened a new vaccination site on USC’s University Park campus on the morning of March 9.

The site will have the ability to administer thousands of doses once fully up and running, Mayor Eric Garcetti stated.

"Our push for equity led us to putting mass vaccination centers closer to communities in the greatest need," the mayor stated during a press briefing on the evening of March 4.

He said mobile vaccination sites are going to the hardest-hit areas in the city to help administer vaccines to residents.

In addition to opening a new vaccination site, the mayor announced a new partnership with Uber that would give free and discounted rides to residents living in South LA.

New vaccination site opening at USC campus

On Tuesday, March 9 a new city-run vaccination site will open at USC University Park Campus. The city is partnering with Uber to give free and discounted rides to residents in the South LA neighborhood.

Garcetti says Uber will provide 15,000 free rides to bring South LA residents to the USC vaccination site. Uber is also giving 20,000 rides for half-off.

"Access to a vaccine means nothing without transportation to connect you there," the mayor added.

In hopes of reaching more residents, the city is also launching a "Dependent Homebound Population Vaccination'' initiative that will deploy teams of firefighters and CORE personnel to homes and senior living facilities to give vaccines to homebound residents.

Their goal is to vaccinate 300,000 homebound seniors in the coming week. The mayor says all of this springs out of their campaign for equity.

California to allot 40% of vaccine doses to vulnerable areas

His announcement comes hours after California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state will set aside 40% of all vaccine doses for the most vulnerable neighborhoods. All in an effort to inoculate people most at risk from the coronavirus and get the state’s economy open more quickly.

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